The Government of Macau
The Government of Macau
Chinese Government
Country name: conventional long form: Macau Special Administrative Region conventional short form: Macau local long form: Aomen Tebie Xingzhengqu (Chinese); Regiao Administrativa Especial de Macau (Portuguese) local short form: Aomen (Chinese); Macau (Portuguese)
Government type: limited democracy
Capital:
Administrative divisions: none (special administrative region of the People's Republic of China)
Independence: none (special administrative region of China)
National holiday: National Day (Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China), 1 October (1949); note - 20 December 1999 is celebrated as Macau Special Administrative Region Establishment Day
Constitution: Basic Law, approved on 31 March 1993 by China's National People's Congress, is Macau's "mini-constitution"
Legal system: based on Portuguese civil law system
Suffrage: direct election 18 years of age for some non-executive positions, universal for permanent residents living in Macau for the past seven years; indirect election limited to organizations registered as "corporate voters" (257 are currently registered) and a 300-member Election Committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies
Executive branch: chief of state: President of China HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003) head of government: Chief Executive Edmund HO Hau-wah (since 20 December 1999) cabinet: Executive Council consists of one government secretary, three legislators, four businessmen, one pro-Beijing unionist, and one pro-Beijing educator elections: chief executive chosen by a 300-member Election Committee for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 29 August 2004 (next to be held on 28 June 2009) election results: Edmund HO Hau-wah reelected received 296 votes; three members submitted blank ballots; one member was absent
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly (29 seats; 12 members elected by popular vote, 10 by indirect vote, and 7 appointed by the chief executive; serve four-year terms) elections: last held 25 September 2005 (next to be held in the fall of 2009) election results: percent of vote - New Democratic Macau Association 18.8%, Macau United Citizens' Association 16.6%, Union for Development 13.3%, Union for Promoting Progress 9.6%, Macau Development Alliance 9.3%, others 32.4%; seats by political group - New Democratic Macau Association 2, Macau United Citizens' Association 2, Union for Development 2, Union for Promoting Progress 2, Macau Development Alliance 1, New Hope 1, Convergence for Development 1, General Union for the Good of Macau 1; 10 seats filled by professional and business groups; seven members appointed by chief executive
Judicial branch: Court of Final Appeal in Macau Special Administrative Region
Political parties and leaders: New Hope [Jose Maria Pereira COUTINHO]; Development Union [KWAN Tsui-hang]; Macau Development Alliance [Angela LEONG On-kei]; Macau United Citizens' Association [CHAN Meng-kam]; New Democratic Macau Association [Antonio NG Kuok-cheong]; Union for Promoting Progress [LEONG Heng-teng] note: there is no political party ordinance, so there are no registered political parties; politically active groups register as societies or companies
Political pressure groups and leaders: Civic Power [Agnes LAM Lok-fong]; Macau Society of Tourism and Entertainment or STDM [Stanley HO]; Macau Worker's Union [HO Heng-kuok]; Roman Catholic Church; Union for Democracy Development [Antonio NG Kuok-cheong]
International organization participation: IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), ISO (correspondent), UNESCO (associate), UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCO, WFTU, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (special administrative region of China)
Diplomatic representation from the US: the US has no offices in Macau; US Consulate General in Hong Kong is accredited to Macau
Flag description: light green with a lotus flower above a stylized bridge and water in white, beneath an arc of five gold, five-pointed stars: one large in center of arc and four smaller